Archive for the 'Al West' Tag Under 'Angels' Category

MLB Network analyst Peter Gammons tweeted earlier today that the sale of the Houston Astros to an ownership group led by businessman Jim Crane will be approved by MLB in a few weeks with a move to the American League part of the deal.

The move to the AL would be part of a fairly radical realignment that would even out the baseball landscape with 15 teams in each league, five teams in each division. The Astros would land in the AL West with the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Oakland A's and Angels.

A TV station in Houston is reporting that Major League Baseball is trying to strong-arm the Astros into relocating to the AL West.

According to the report referenced here, MLB has told Houston businessman Jim Crane that his bid to buy the Astros for $680 million from current owner Drayton McLane will only be approved if Crane agrees to move his team to the AL West as part of a realignment plan MLB is considering.

Crane's approval was scheduled to go to a vote of the 29 other MLB owners last month but was delayed.

A move by the Astros to the AL West would even the NL and AL out at 15 teams each -- but would make interleague play a necessary part of the daily schedule all season long. That seems to be the realignment plan that has gained the most traction.

Adding the Astros would further stretch the AL West (where teams annually travel more miles than any other division in baseball). But it would give the Rangers a Texas partner, a potential plus in scheduling division play.

If they're going to win the American League West, the Angels will have to beat the American League West.

The 5-3 loss at Seattle on Monday night reminds us that this team hasn't done that enough.

The Angels are now 20-22 in their division, a division that still includes the A's and Mariners, who combined at 33 games below .500.

Against the West, Texas is 28-14, Boston is 20-12 and the New York Yankees are 20-10. Only Detroit, at 16-16, doesn't have a winning mark versus the AL West among American League teams currently bound for the playoffs.

For crying out loud, Kansas City, last in the AL Central and 22 games under .500, is 14-14 against the West.

The Oakland A's might be hopping on the BART and leaving town, Kelly Rayburn of the Oakland Tribune writes. While the prospect of the A's moving isn't anything new, a three-member committee will report to Bud Selig this week with information on building a new stadium in Oakland, Fremont or San Jose. The A's had the worst attendance in baseball in 2009.

Here's a quick look at what's going on around the division this morning.

The Rangers are going to give Newport Beach native C.J. Wilson a look as a starting pitcher this spring, the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant writes. Wilson's coming off of a good year in Texas, working out of the bullpen to strike out 84 batters in 72.3 innings. The Rangers do have serious questions at the back of their rotation, and Wilson started six games in 2005.

Rangers general manager John Daniels will appear in a live chat on the Dallas Morning News baseball blog at 1 p.m. PST.

Less than two weeks after acquiring him from Cincinnati, the Oakland A's have released speedy outfielder Willy Taveras.

The Texas Rangers have a big-time positional battle shaping up this spring between a pair of young sluggers, Chris Davis and Justin Smoak. ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett thinks Davis has the edge because of a strong September, despite Smoak's success playing for Team USA.

There might not be room for both hitters on the opening day roster even if the pair have big springs because Valdimir Guerrero signed with the Rangers in the offseason to DH.